Page 88 of That Mafioso Magic
Her tiny arms encircled me and she began to cry. “Wh… wh… ma?” Her voice was hoarse as she tried to speak.
I pulled her back so I could look into her eyes. I needed to make sure they were the eyes of an innocent and they were. Big and worried and full of fear, but innocent. “Just relax, sweetheart. You’ve been through a lot. What do you remember?”
Her tears kept flowing, but she answered me. “A… a mean… man. He… hurt me,” she panted.
“He will never hurt you again,” Sage said. I looked up at him and smiled.
Jewel and Xavier had unbuckled their seatbelts and had joined us.
“It’s going to be all right, little one,” Jewel said, gathering her into her arms. Lacey wrapped her arms around her tightly and Jewel held her. It was kind of shocking to see the badass bodyguard shifter be so sweet and gentle. Especially since how viciously she was punching poor Lacey’s body just hours ago. Of course, Lacey was a vicious demon at that point, who was kicking our asses. So, that was understandable.
“We need to contact her family,” Xavier said.
I nodded. “I have the aunt’s information. We can call them now that we have saved Lacey.”
“What about the police?” Xavier asked.
“I’ll deal with them,” I said. “I am a private eye, after all.”
“If you need me to work some mental mojo, just let me know,” Sage offered.
I pointed at him. “I might take you up on that if they start asking too many questions.”
“They’re cops and you solved a crime they couldn’t. Of course, there will be too many questions,” Xavier said.
“We’re going to go to the bathroom and clean up a bit,” Jewel said, and she picked Lacey up and carried her off to the back of the plane.
That was a good idea. She needed to wash the griezel blood off her flesh for sure, and any blood from the battle. I was glad that her body had healed all wounds, thanks to the demonic spirit that had inhabited it. That was the only good thing to come of that bullshit. Although, I would have healed her myself if it hadn’t, no matter how exhausted I was, and I was so fucking tired. I felt like I’d been running non-stop for five hours. I was hungry, tired, and a little sore. I looked around at all of the damage the demon had done to Sage’s private jet and hissed.
“Ooooh, I’m so sorry about your plane,” I said, then turned to him.
“Nothing money and insurance can’t fix,” he said, then he leaned over, kissing me. “You were amazing.”
I smiled. “You too.” This time, I leaned forward and kissed him, tongue and all, and didn’t give a damn who was watching and did or didn’t approve. If this night had proven anything to me… this last seventy-two hours, it was that Sage and I belonged together.
“Can we get the hell out of here?” Xavier grumbled.
I pulled back from Sage’s luscious lips and looked at him. “Yeah, I’m ready to go home.”
“I’ll gather everything, just check on Lacey,” Sage said.
“Okay.” I rose and wobbled a little, but Xavier helped steady me. “Thanks.”
“No problem. Man, you look like shit. How do you feel?”
“Like ten miles of rough road,” I said. I wanted to sleep for about five years. The strength of that spell took everything I had. Sage fared better than I did, because he was already a supernal, but even he looked drained. I wondered if he needed to feed. I watched him gather all of our magical objects and put them back into the suitcase. The heart he placed back into the container, to toss, I supposed… or save. Maybe it could be preserved for another spell that required it.
“Sage?” I asked.
He rose to his full height, and damn if he didn’t look like a model, even in just his shirt and pants. “Yes?”
“Do… do you need to feed?” I asked.
He smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s just get home, okay? And let’s get that little girl to her family.”
I smiled. He may be a cold-blooded gangster, but he wasn’t evil. I saw that. He was just capable of doing what I didn’t believe I could. He was the yin to my yang for sure. I rubbed his chest with my hand in a comforting gesture as I walked past him toward the bathroom to check on Lacey and Jewel. I knocked on the door.
“Come in, it’s open,” Jewel said.
